BPMN Reference

BPMN

In short: BPMN (Business Process Model and Notation) is the open standard for drawing business processes. A BPMN diagram shows who does what, in which order, and what happens when something goes differently. This reference explains the BPMN 2.0 elements. For each one it also says what Flower does with it in Jira, because in Flower a diagram is not only a picture: it runs.

The Elements of BPMN

BPMN has five kinds of elements. Each kind has its own shape, so you can read a diagram before you know the details.

The anatomy of a BPMN diagram: a product launch with a pool, the lanes Marketing and Legal, a start event, tasks, a gateway, sequence flows, a timer on a task, and an end event, each named on a note

Kind	Shape	What it says	In Flower and Jira	Read more
Participants	Boxes around the process	Who is responsible: a pool is an organization or a system, a lane is a role or a team	The lane sets the assignee of the work items in it	Pools and Lanes
Activities	Rounded rectangles	The work: a task is one step, a sub-process is a group of steps	Each task becomes a Jira work item	BPMN Tasks
Gateways	Diamonds	Where the flow splits and joins: one path, all paths, or some paths	Conditions read the fields of your work items	BPMN Gateways
Events	Circles	What happens: a start, an end, a deadline, a message	Timers set due dates, a Jira status can raise an error or an escalation, throw events trigger Jira Automation	BPMN Events
Flows and data	Arrows, documents, notes	The order of the steps, the messages between participants, and the information they use	Sequence flows move the process, data objects and notes document it	Flows, Data and Artifacts

BPMN Symbols at a Glance

The symbols you meet in most diagrams. The last column says what happens when a process that Flower runs reaches the element.

Participants

Rules, the black box pool, and common mistakes: BPMN Pools and Lanes.

Symbol	Element	Meaning	In Flower and Jira
	Pool	One participant of the process, for example a company or a department. Each pool holds its own process	Flower runs all pools of a model in one process instance. See Message Flows
	Lane	A role or a team inside the pool. Every step sits in exactly one lane	The work items of a lane get the same assignee. Reassign one, and the open work items of the lane follow. See Swimlanes

Tasks and Sub-Processes

Element	Meaning	In Flower and Jira
User task	Work that a person does with the help of software	Creates a work item. The process waits until it is resolved. See User Tasks
Manual task	Work that a person does without software	Creates a work item
Task (no type)	A step whose type is left open	Creates a work item
Service, script, send, receive, business rule task	Work that a system does	Can be modeled, is ignored during execution. A throw event can trigger Jira Automation instead
Call activity	Calls another process model	Runs the other model as a sub-process
Embedded sub-process	A group of steps drawn inside one box	Graphical only: it structures the diagram

All task types in detail: BPMN Tasks. Loop and multi-instance: BPMN Markers. Embedded sub-process, call activity, event sub-process, and ad-hoc: BPMN Sub-Processes.

Gateways

Element	Meaning	In Flower and Jira
Exclusive gateway (XOR)	Exactly one of the outgoing paths is taken	Takes the first path whose condition is true, else the default flow
Parallel gateway (AND)	All outgoing paths start at the same time. As a join it waits for all of them	Starts all paths at once and waits for all of them at the join
Inclusive gateway (OR)	Every path whose condition is true is taken	Supported as a split
Event-based and complex gateway	The first event that happens decides, or a custom rule	Can be modeled, is ignored during execution

Conditions, default flows, and examples: BPMN Gateways and Decision Handling in Gateways.

Events

Element	Meaning	In Flower and Jira
Start event	Where the process begins	A process instance starts here
End event	Where one path of the process ends	The path ends. Other paths go on
Terminate end event	Ends the whole process at once	Ends the process and closes all open work items. See Terminate End
Timer boundary event	A deadline on a task	Sets the due date of the work item and starts a timeout path. See Set Due Dates with Timer Events
Error boundary event	The task failed	The work item is resolved in an error status such as Cancelled: the process takes the error path. From Flower 3.7.0. See BPMN Error Events
Escalation boundary event	The task needs the attention of someone else	The work item is moved into a status such as Escalated: the escalation path starts while the work goes on. From Flower 3.7.0. See BPMN Escalation Events
Conditional boundary event	A condition is true	Checked when the work item is resolved, for example the resolution Rejected. From Flower 3.7.0. See BPMN Conditional Events
Message, signal, escalation, and link throw event	The process sends something	Triggers a Jira Automation rule or calls a webhook. See Triggering Jira Automation with BPMN Events
Catch events	The process waits for something	A message from another pool of the same model arrives over a message flow. Other catch events can be modeled and are ignored during execution

All event types and positions: BPMN Events. Dates, durations, and cycles: BPMN Timer Events.

Flows, Data, and Artifacts

Symbol	Element	Meaning	In Flower and Jira
Solid arrow	Sequence flow	The order of the steps inside a pool	The token follows it
Arrow with a slash	Default flow	The path a gateway takes when no condition is true	Taken when no condition is fulfilled
Dashed arrow	Message flow	A message between two pools	Delivers the message to the other pool. See Message Flows
	Data object, data store	The information a step reads or writes	Documentation only. The data of a process lives in the fields of its work items
	Text annotation, group	A note for the reader	Documentation only

The arrows in detail: BPMN Flows. Data objects, annotations, and groups: BPMN Data and Artifacts.

Every symbol of the standard, with its status in Flower: BPMN Coverage in Jira.

How a BPMN Model Runs in Jira

BPMN describes a running process with a token: a marker that travels along the sequence flows and shows where the process is. Flower moves this token through your model and turns each stop into something in Jira.

Start. You start a process instance. It is a Jira work item of its own, and a token sits on the start event.
Task. The token reaches a task. Flower creates a work item in the space and with the work type you chose in the model. The lane decides who gets it.
Work. The work item moves through its own Jira workflow. The team works as it always does.
Done. The work item is resolved. The token moves on.
Gateway. The token reaches a gateway. Flower checks the conditions against the fields of the work items and takes the matching paths.
Deadline. A timer on a task sets the due date. When it passes, the timeout path starts.
End. The token reaches an end event. When no token is left, the process instance is complete.

From BPMN to Jira: each task of the process becomes a Jira work item, the lane sets its assignee, and a timer on the task sets its due date

So the BPMN model is the big picture, and every box in it is a Jira work item with the workflow its team already uses.

The building blocks that return in almost every process, such as parallel work, loops, and deadlines, are collected in BPMN Workflow Patterns.

Where to Start

New to BPMN: read What Is BPMN?, then BPMN Gateways and Workflow Patterns. Avoid the usual traps with 11 Common BPMN Modeling Mistakes.
You know BPMN and are new to Flower: check BPMN Coverage in Jira to see what is executed, then build your first model in Get Started with Modelling.
You have BPMN files from another tool: see Export and Import Your BPMN File.
You look for a term: the BPMN Glossary has the definitions from A to Z.
You want to set it up: the guides show each feature with a short animation and step-by-step instructions.

All Pages of the BPMN Reference

What Is BPMN?The standard for business process diagrams, in ten minutesWhat BPMN is, where it comes from, how a diagram is read, how it differs from a Jira workflow, and how Flower runs BPMN models in Jira.5 min read→Pools and LanesWho takes part in a process, and who does which stepPools are the participants of a process, lanes are the roles inside a pool. How to use them in BPMN, and how Flower turns a lane into the assignee of Jira work items.3 min read→BPMN TasksWhich BPMN task types Flower executes, how each one becomes a Jira work item, and which task types are ignored during execution.4 min read→Sub-ProcessesEmbedded sub-process, call activity, event sub-process, and ad-hocThe ways BPMN bundles steps into a bigger unit. The embedded sub-process, the call activity that reuses another model, the event sub-process, the transaction, and the ad-hoc sub-process, each with its status in Flower.4 min read→BPMN GatewaysGateways route the process. Exclusive gateways choose one path, parallel gateways start all paths, and inclusive gateways start every path whose condition is true.6 min read→BPMN EventsOverview of the BPMN events that Flower executes, such as throw events, timer boundary events, and terminate end events, and what happens when the process reaches them.8 min read→Timer EventsDeadlines, delays, and schedules in a processThe BPMN timer event as start, intermediate, and boundary event. Dates, durations, and cycles in ISO 8601, interrupting and non-interrupting timers, and how a timer sets the due date of a Jira work item in Flower.4 min read→Error EventsWhen a step fails and the process takes another pathThe BPMN error event as end event, boundary event, and start of an event sub-process. How a process reacts when a step fails, and how a Jira status such as Cancelled throws an error in Flower.3 min read→Escalation EventsCall for help while the work goes onThe BPMN escalation event as throw, end, and boundary event, interrupting and non-interrupting. How a process asks a higher level for attention, and how a Jira status such as Escalated starts the escalation path in Flower.3 min read→Conditional EventsReact when a condition becomes trueThe BPMN conditional event as start, intermediate, and boundary event. How a process reacts to a business condition, the difference to a gateway, and how Flower checks the condition on a resolved Jira work item.3 min read→MarkersLoop, multi-instance, compensation, ad-hoc, and collapsed sub-processThe small symbols at the bottom of a BPMN activity. What the loop, multi-instance, compensation, ad-hoc, and sub-process markers mean, and how to get the same result in Flower.4 min read→FlowsSequence flows, default flows, and message flowsThe arrows of BPMN. Sequence flows give the order of the steps, conditional and default flows carry decisions, and message flows connect pools. With how Flower follows them in Jira.4 min read→Data and ArtifactsData objects, data stores, text annotations, and groupsThe BPMN elements that add information to a diagram. Data objects and data stores show what a step reads and writes, text annotations and groups explain the model. With what Flower does with them in Jira.3 min read→Workflow PatternsThe recurring building blocks of processes, and how to draw themThe common workflow patterns, from sequence and parallel split to loops, deadlines, and cancellation. Each with its BPMN construct and whether Flower executes it in Jira.5 min read→GlossaryThe terms of BPMN from A to ZShort definitions of the BPMN terms, from activity and boundary event to token and work item, each with a link to the page that explains it and a note on what it means in Flower and Jira.5 min read→BPMN CoverageWhich BPMN elements Flower executes in Jira and which ones you can model but Flower ignores during execution.1 min read→Export & import diagramWhat a BPMN file is, how to open it, and how to export and import BPMN files to move process models between Jira instances and other BPMN tools.5 min read→

Frequently Asked Questions

What is BPMN?

BPMN (Business Process Model and Notation) is a standard notation for business process diagrams. The Object Management Group (OMG) maintains it, and it is also the ISO standard ISO/IEC 19510. The current version is BPMN 2.0.

What are the basic elements of BPMN?

Participants (pools and lanes), activities (tasks and sub-processes), gateways, events, and connecting objects (sequence flows and message flows). Data objects and artifacts such as text annotations add information for the reader.

Can BPMN diagrams be executed?

Yes. BPMN 2.0 defines how a process engine runs a model. Flower is such an engine inside Jira: it creates a Jira work item for each task and moves the process on when the work item is resolved.

Does Flower support all BPMN elements?

You can model every BPMN 2.0 element in Flower. Flower executes the elements that matter for work done by people: tasks, call activities, exclusive, parallel, and inclusive gateways, timer, error, escalation, and conditional boundary events, throw events, and terminate end events. The others stay in the model and are ignored during execution. See BPMN Coverage in Jira.

What is the difference between a BPMN process and a Jira workflow?

A Jira workflow describes the statuses of one work item. A BPMN process describes how many work items, often of several teams, depend on each other. Flower connects the two: the process creates the work items, and each work item follows its own Jira workflow.